| Eurovision Song Contest News - Germany 2011 

adarvus ceterum

43 Belarus (Anastassiya Vinnikova, I Love Belarus)
This patriotic up-tempo number with ethnic touches was performed with 0 \\\\% irony and thus came pretty close to Stalinist propaganda. Sorry but ESC is not the opening of some party congress celebrating Lukashenko and the beautiful country he rules with an iron hand and in defiance of basic human and civil rights. I do not think that songs like this one have a place in ESC, and the fact that Belarus was pretty close to qualification in semi 2 makes me think whether tearing down the iron curtain was such a good idea after all. Some former EX-USSR countries still don t know the first thing about decency, fair play, transparency etc. If you have power, feel free to abuse it! Sorry for being off-topic but this shameless act makes me go through the roof! Btw, Anastassiya cannot sing and the song is a pile of shit but those are minor issues when it comes to I Love Belarus.

42 Ireland (Jedward, Lipstick)
The song itself is actually a rather generic but not altogether hideous teen disco number and the LED background looked fantastic. Everything else was totally disgusting, in particular the twins themselves. They looked and behaved like morons, wore glittery red jackets (sort of Bobbysocks in bright red) and did a silly and ridiculous jump and march routine onstage. I really wonder what people who enjoyed watching Lipstick do in their leisure time. In my opinion, Ireland 2011 is an insult to every single brain cell and perfectly represents everything I do not want to see and hear in ESC, and that includes Jedward s interviews.

41 Croatia (Daria Kinzer, Celebrate)
After the huge disappointment of the Feminnem flop last year, it was pretty obvious that good old DORA would come under review and the minute HRT announced that DORA would not be a festival anymore but an idol show, I had a feeling that this would end in disaster. And it did because everything went wrong. First the so-called experts sent both finalists with the same song to the final. Celebrate is a weak and boring europop number next to which Je ne sais quoi is a gem and masterpiece. Then the Croatian public chose the pretty face over the good voice, then it became clear that pretty face has an unpleasant voice, a rather unfortunate tendency to go off-key and zero charisma on stage. And finally, in a desperate attempt to dissimulate all those obvious weaknesses of Croatia 2011 they decided to come up with the messiest stage show since Leto svet: two dress changes, some staggering steps on the catwalk , pointless hand waving and glittery confetti in the end. Give me a break! This one was doomed to fail from day 1 and even Jesus himself couldn t have saved it.

40 Armenia (Emmy, Boom Boom)
I have never thought much of Emmy as a live singer and she didn t disappoint me. She struggled to both make herself heard and hit the notes throughout her 3 minute performance. It was terribly embarrassing to watch imo. And she was another desperate one. Emmy isn t stupid and she knew perfectly well that she had brought a crap to Duesseldorf and thus she tried to fool everyone by inventing a totally random connection to boxing and Artur Abraham. The fact that this shallow as a puddle in my front garden song sung by a tediously flat voice missed the final by 1 point only once more proves that the EBU still has to address the voting issue. If they think that the return of the juries saved this problem, they couldn t be more wrong. In particular the voting of the EX-USSR and FYR countries was a shame, a disgrace and a scandal once more this year. Boom Boom might be a catchy song, but not in a good or healthy way!

39 Slovakia (TWiiNS, I m Still Alive)
The only good thing about Slovakia 2011 is that the girls refused to meet Jedward because the Irish twins were different as they put it in a very diplomatic way. Kudos for not joining the hype of silliness! The song itself is a nice enough and radio friendly RnB ballad but there is not much happening here, very repetitive, wind machine etc., rather weak vocals too. No Angels reloaded imo, only much better dressed, in fact dressed with great taste. I am very surprised that they came pretty close to qualification because I found it extremely tedious although they were very easy on the eye.

38 Ukraine (Mika Newton, Angel)
And here we have another cheater from one of those countries that do not know what fair play is, and no I am not talking about the Ukrainian NF (although I could and go on for pages) but about the sand painting. They probably knew that they had a pretty average ballad that would be performed by a singer prone to an unfortunate tendency towards screaming and melodramatic overacting, and thus they wisely decided to distract from the actual entry as much as possible in order to get a good result. Kudos Europe for falling for the sand painting gimmick. LOL Should I be worried? Should I emigrate to a different country? Whoever I meet in the future, I will always think: Were you one of those back then? Did you fall for the sand painting?

37 Finland (Paradise Oscar, Da da dam)
Well, he can certainly sing although he was rather weak in the final. Anyway, Finland 2011 is far too sentimental, tacky and cocky for my taste. PO simply doesn t come across as a likeable and genuine guy and thus he can pack his save the world drivel and go wherever he wants as long as he does not come anywhere near my place. That would mean real trouble. LOL

36 Lithuania (Evelina Sashenko, C est ma vie)
Before the contest, I expected Evelina to be in my bottom 3 but her entry actually worked quite well live imo. Superb vocals, atmospheric staging and I like the bit with the sign language too. Pity about the song which sounds like a Broadway musical reject from the 60s, but anyway, this was as good as it could get, I guess.

35 Israel (Dana International, Ding Dong)
I have never understood why this ESC legend and civil rights icon decided to do ESC again after 13 years. She could only lose, and man did she lose big time. The song is pretty lame and doesn t really know what it wants to be. Except for Dana strutting the catwalk there was little energy and her vocals were all over the place. It was so sad to watch it.

34 Russia (Alexey Vorobyov, Get You)
Well, Alexey can certainly sing and do some other things too, like doing summersaults, posing, kissing girls and ripping off his shirt. The song is sort of ok, but he just comes across as such a full of himself for no reason yobbo. I fear that concepts like classy or good taste are totally alien to this guy. And again one of those cheater countries! I think that the EBU must forbid the broadcast of Vote for country XY! advert clips abroad if they want to keep ESC a fair competition (LOL! ROFL! Ok, I am back.) because few broadcasters could afford such a promotional campaign. Btw, I hope that most broadcasters are not ethically corrupted to a degree that allows them to hit on an idea like that.

33 Sweden (Eric Saade, Popular)
Eric cannot sing and if he has a good day on which he manages to make himself heard, he sings through the nose. Honestly, this is one of the least pleasant voices I have ever listened to. The song is probably best described as contagious and sweeping but unfortunately it is pretty mindless at the same time. Plus the lyrics are so annoyingly stupid and pretty insulting too imo. Anyway, Sweden 2011 has two strong points that get it out of my bottom 10: the slick dance routine and Eric himself as long as he does not sing. I have to admit that he is terribly cute in the way certain guys are, those that are not exactly masterminds.

32 Macedonia (Vlatko Ilievski, Rusinka)
And here comes another one who cannot sing but is a good friend of the President s son which is probably much more helpful than a good voice if you want to be successful singer in Macedonia. (At least my friends living there tell me so.) The song is definitely in the silly ethnic genre but since I adore the dancers, this one gets a respectable 32nd place on my list.

31 Poland (Magdalena Tul, Jestem)
Poland is in serious trouble. They did not have a single song in their NF that would have had a chance to get to the final. I don t know what has gone wrong in Poland (they ruled the contest in my book in the mid-90s) but if we look at the entries they have sent since 2005, there is no way around the truth that their status as one of the least successful ESC countries of the last years is well deserved. Jestem isn t an entirely bad song but it isn t good enough to make many people vote for it either. Nice songs always come last, and so did Poland this year. The shaky vocals and bad visual presentation did not help either.

30 Latvia (Musiqq, Angel in Disguise)
Many of my ESC buddies like this one, and whereas I normally understand why they like what they like even if I personally disagree, I completely fail to understand why anyone would like this one. Everything about it is average. The composition is average, the instrumentation is average, the singing is average, the rapping is average, the stage presentation is average. Only the lyrics are not average, they are really bad and not even grammatically correct.

29 Netherlands (3JS, Never Alone)
How to ruin a nice enough song? Check NL 2011! Come onto stage in a hideous white suit, make your hair look as if you hadn t washed it for two weeks, ignore the cameras and give a lame performance addressed to the live audience. OK song and strong vocals, but I knew that the NL were dead in the water the second 3JS started performing.

28 Norway (Stella Mwangi, Haba haba)
This one was so hyped on the internet and I never understood why. There were much better choices in MGP and I am still sure that Aste & Rikke would have got another top 10 for Norway. Stella looks fantastic onstage but unfortunately live singing is not among her main talents. Add a happy yet rather lame song and a terrible draw and you end up in 17th place in the semi. No surprise or shock here.

27 Portugal (Homens da luta, A luta e alegria)
No surprise here either and a very sad story. Never before has FdC seen so many strong songs with realistic chances to bring Portugal a good result after so many years (Nuno Norte, Wanda Stuart, Henrique Feist to only name the 3 best) but then the Portuguese public chose to send HDL instead for obvious and understandable reasons, and as expected they crashed, burned and perished in the semi. This year, the Portuguese have no one but themselves to blame in case they still care for results in ESC. Did they really expect Europe to get an act that can only be understood if you are familiar with both a) the history of the Revolucao dos Cravos and b) the situation in Portugal atm? Understanding Portuguese might be quite useful too because A luta e alegria is a pretty repetitive song that is rather boring if you do not understand what they are going on about. Anyway, I think that they should have cut down the song to 2 minutes because I can imagine that many people thought that is different / fun for 2 minutes and then that is boring / annoying as hell for the last minute. Sometimes less can be more. I enjoyed it live but then I am quite familiar with all things Portuguese but at the same time I am sure that I will never listen to the song again.

26 Austria (Nadine Beiler, The Secret Is Love)
Oh my, what have the Austrian s done? Next to Estonia they had the best line-up of songs for their NF and in the end they sent one of only three craps among the 30 songs they had to choose from. If this gets a 5/12 from me nevertheless it is due to Nadine s strong yet overhyped vocals (2 pts) and the beautiful staging (2 pts). The song itself is little more than sugary shit done in quality screaming style. Finally, I am very happy that Nadine toned down her vibrato for ESC, perhaps she read some of my comments on esctoday ;-)

25 Albania (Aurela Gace, Feel the Passion)
This song and I have a long and complicated history. When it won FiK and was chosen to represent Albania this year, I did not like it at all but eventually I learnt to love it a bit. But then the English version came out and it dropped to the bottom of my list again, first and foremost because of the lyrics which are put together by numbers and do not leave out one of those assumedly universal ESC words I have grown so tired of. Just have a look at the refrain:
Let me share my song with you, just feel the passion / Love's the message shining through, a chain reaction / It brings my heaven down to earth and this is why / It drives me mad but it gives me life, I'm free to fly, eh
Fly on the wings of love?!
But then Aurela went onstage last Tuesday night and I was impressed both visually and vocally. The stage seemed to be on fire. Totally stunning! Typical ESC irony here, the moment I start loving a song, it goes out of the competition.

24 Azerbaijan (Ell/Nikki, Running Scared)
Well, everyone knew that Azerbaijan would keep trying to win this thing by all available means until they got what they wanted, and the best news probably is that they might give up trying so hard and relax a bit now. I guess that they wanted this victory in order to improve the country s reputation in Europe in a quite similar way to Russia and Serbia some years ago. However, Marija managed to get the desired result for Serbia in very classy way, whereas Azerbaijan unfortunately followed the nouveau riche and glittery example Dima Bilan had set in 2008. I only hope that the Baku contest won t be as megalomaniac, tasteless and disgustingly nouveau riche as the Moscow one was. Another interesting thing will be how they manage an Armenian participation. I hope that the EBU will encourage Armenia to participate and that they won t compromise when it comes to respecting each other in Europe. Now on to the song, Running Scared is an ok contemporary RnB ballad which I quite like in studio version despite the obvious fact that it is rather generic, predictable and thus a tad boring too. My main problem here was the staging which was far too tacky and glittery for my taste. I did not like all that getting intimate with each other towards the end either. All in all, judging on the studio version, Azerbaijan would have been in my top 10 in the final but the live performance brought them down to 18th place on my list.

23 Hungary (Kati Wolf, What about My Dreams)
And here comes the OGAE fan favourite. LOL I predicted a FFF (fan favourite flop) from day 1 and was called all different and some nasty names because of that. Well, it is europop, and europop doesn t do it for me, and it obviously doesn t do it for many other Europeans either. It was a shipwreck in the semi (it is some sort of ESC miracle that it qualified nevertheless) but very strong in the final. The terrible draw and unpopularity of the musical genre beyond ESC fan clubs killed all chances it might have had to make a top 10. Nevertheless, Hungary s gay disco stomper was a very pleasant surprise in the final. I sort of enjoyed the 3 minutes, an experience I had not had the slightest hope for after the semi.

22 Spain (Lucia Perez, Que me quiten lo bailao)
Another one that was much stronger than expected live. Lucia is a good live singer and knows how to move onstage. Unfortunately, I do not like those dated summery songs with a Spanish flavour and obviously most Europeans agree with me on this point. I am in Spain for several weeks every year and in the context of contemporary Spanish pop music QMQLB is utterly irrelevant and a complete farce. Please, Spain, get your act together!

21 France (Amaury Vassili, Sognu)
France is my favourite ESC country and I have loved or liked all their songs since 1990 with only two exceptions (1997, 1999) but I was very sceptical for several reasons when Sognu was presented as this year s ESC entry from France. The bookies and the fan clubs loved it to bits from day one, but I never thought that a bolero in Corsican sung in operatic voice would get anywhere near the top 5, not even if it was vocally perfect and visually breathtaking. However, since almost everyone was convinced that this would at least get a top 3 placing, I began to doubt my own expertise on the subject of predicting ESC results. I shouldn t have worried because Amaury vocally flopped big time on the Duesseldorf stage. And that brings us to the 2nd thought that had made me sceptical from day 1: A young tenor with a great voice and a career in opera ahead of him doesn t do pop and ESC, he does Covent Garden, The Met, La Scala etc. or, if he isn t ready for the big stages yet, smaller houses with an excellent reputation like Graz, Stuttgart, Basel etc. Sorry, but Amaury is a very average tenor and without the power and precision Sognu requires to shine and touch, France 2011 was only dull, pompuous and embarrassing imo. Why is this one still in 21st place on my list? Because I sort of like the studio version and the red convertible in the video.

20 Estonia (Getter Jaani, Rockerfeller Street)
Every year there is one song I really love before the contest that constantly keeps losing ground on my list during the 2 Eurovision weeks. This year, it is Estonia. Eesti Laul was the best national selection once more (I do not think of San Remo as a selection for ESC, that would be a sacrilege! LOL) but first of all there were so many better songs they could have chosen (Outloudz, Mimicry, MID, Ithaka Maria etc., even some that were left behind in the semis like St. Cabah). Well, the Estonians voted for this cute girlie pop number that did not work on the Duesseldorf stage. I tend to agree with the German commentator when it comes to Estonia 2011: No, you do not watch the children s channel. This is the ESC live from Duesseldorf. Still a good song, but perhaps Getter wasn t yet ready for such a huge event as ESC.

19 Bulgaria (Poli Genova, Na inat)
I was really furious when Poli was chosen to represent Bulgaria this year because there were so many songs I loved in the Bulgarian national final. Moreover, I had serious doubts that Poli would have a chance to make it to the final. Anyway, I kept licking the wounds the result of the Bulgarian NF had inflicted and ignored Na inat as good as I could which wasn t that hard because I am no fan of Pink and all her acolytes. Then came semi 2, Poli nailed it, I moved up Bulgaria 15 places on my list, and Bulgaria didn t make it. Sometimes ESC really scares me. If a song in a musical style I personally do not like is so good live that I want it to qualify over songs that are closer to my personal taste, how on earth can that song fail?

18 San Marino (Senit, Stand by)
Microstates have always had a hard time in ESC and didn t even make it to the final when they sent very strong songs (Andorra 2005 & 2007, Monaco 2005, San Marino 2008) and thus I feared for the worst for sweet Senit because I thought that she should have chosen a song that stood out more. Stand by is a very beautiful RnB ballad which is just perfect for the radio but destined to drown in a contest. I am actually pleasantly surprised that San Marino managed to gather 36 points. On a more personal note, I love Senit s alto voice which reminds me of satin and would have loved to be proven wrong in my prediction by San Marino making it to the final.

17 Malta (Glen Vella, One Life)
Glen brought a very bland and generic song to Duesseldorf and made a happy and colourful show of it. The song is not hateful, it just doesn t do it for 99.99 \\\\\\\\% of Europe s population, I am afraid. Glen himself was one of the strongest live performers and certainly the best male live singer in this year s contest, and I loved everything about the way Malta 2011 was staged (fantastic backings both vocally and visually, openly gay etc.). Given the song they had to work with, this was as good as it could be. Good enough for 17th place? Yes, I think so because perfect realization always is a big plus on my list. Although I had known that Glen is a fantastic live singer all along (I heard him sing on Malta some time ago), I thought that Malta would come last in semi 1. I am very happy that I was wrong, and at the same time very sad that Glen and his boys and girls missed the final by one point only.

16 United Kingdom (Blue, I Can)
And here we have the complete opposite to Malta 2011, a good song with a lot of potential totally ruined by a pointless and vocally disastrous live performance. I guess that they managed to cling to the 11th place because they are Blue. If this had been performed in such a disastrous way by unknown artists from Malta, San Marino or Cyprus, it would have been bottom 3 for sure.

15 Romania (Hotel FM, Change)
This was another surprise. Before the Duesseldorf rehearsals started, I had always described Romania 2011 with adjectives like bland, irrelevant and generic. Perhaps I was right and it is all that but David Bryan is such a charismatic live performer (dimples and striped trousers included) that I immensely enjoyed it. The vocals were flawless too, and thus everyone at our party was happily tapping or dancing along. Very well done! This song was on the wrong side of 30 on my pre-contest list.

14 Switzerland (Anna Rossinelli, In Love for a While)
ESC is a funny thing, isn t it? Switzerland has sent some of its most popular and famous acts in the last years (DJ Bobo, Lovebugs, Michael von der Heide) and always missed the final, and then they send a street musician from Basel and make it, even if only to take the last place in the final. Still, it is an improvement result-wise, last year they came last in the semi. Well, I have said it again and again, it is a cute little number with too many nanananananas and one of this year s best singers. Moreover, the trio looks very nice onstage and I loved the LED background to the Swiss act.

13 Turkey (Yueksek Sadakat, Live It Up)
Turkey out of the final! Who would have thought that this could happen before Duesseldorf s semi 1, in particular with one of the better songs this year? It is all about their live performance imo. There were minor aspects that damaged the visual impression, like the black-green clothes or the contortionist in the cage. They would have survived all that, I guess. What killed YS s chances to qualify was the very lacklustre performance they gave, and it is a mystery to me how that could happen, considering that those guys are experienced and normally strong live performers. I keep wondering: Did they perhaps subconsciously think: We are representing Turkey. Let s get this semi thing over with and give it 100 \\\\\\\\% in the final. Whatever the reasons might be, I think that Turkey was strong enough to deserve a place in the final even with the disappointing semi performance.

12 Slovenia (Maja Keuc, No One)
I will never understand why they changed the language for ESC. This powerful and (in contrast to Austria or Lithuania) contemporary ballad / mid-tempo number sounded just perfect in Slovenian, in particular the Tvoja bit. I would have staged this completely different, without the porn boots and the moving backings. They would have stayed put if I had had it my way in order to focus entirely on Maja who is a hell of a singer and a charismatic live performer. Best Slovenian effort since, well, for ages really. 1997?

11 Iceland (Sjonni s Friends, Coming Home)
Irrespective of the sad story behind this entry this is a good song and the guys were great vocally. Among a good number of demanding, silly or arduous entries, a song like Iceland 2011 is always a very welcome opportunity to just relax, enjoy and breathe steadily. A song like that is certainly not fighting for the crown in ESC but kudos for an entry that was about music and singing 100 \\\\\\\\%.

10 Moldova (Zdob si Zdub, So Lucky)
This is both a good song and a guilty pleasure but above all it was three minutes of great fun and visually among the best this year. In contrast to some other acts, those guys can both sing in tune and put on an energetic show at the same time. More of that please!

9 Denmark (A Friend in London, New Tomorrow)
This is another one that has significantly grown on me over the two weeks of Duesseldorf 2011. The staging was very authentic (considering that this is ESC) and the whole act is possibly as close as we can get to a contemporary pop-rock tune and performance in ESC. I know that some people accused New Tomorrow of plagiarism but haven t we buried the idea of originality some decades ago with the birth of post-modernism? Finally, Tim Schou is a fantastic front man, very charismatic and with strong live vocals.

8 Belgium (Witloof Bay, With Love Baby)
I am very well aware that vocal groups are not everyone s taste (they aren t on my list of favourites either) but what those 6 people did onstage in the 2nd semi was world class and among the most difficult we have ever heard in ESC. I will spare you my opinion on Sweden winning this semi, Ireland qualifying and Belgium being left behind and only express my hope that at least the juries had Belgium in their top 10 because they are supposed to be professionals.

7 Bosnia & Herzegovina (Dino Merlin, Love in Rewind)
BiH is a country that sends good or fantastic entries every year and 2011 is no exception. Great melody, great orchestration, great stage, great lyrics and great fun without being silly (Jedward) or chumming up (Sweden) for example.

6 Cyprus (Christos Mylordos, San aggelos s agapisa)
OK, something is definitely wrong in ESC. Belarus gets 45 points and Cyprus gets 16? I admit that the staging wasn t perfect for the song (keep it simple would have worked much better imo) but Christos still had a better song, a better voice and better lyrics. Belgium and Cyprus being left behind in the semis are the two biggest scandals of this season and both examples prove that ESC is still mainly about voting for your neighbors / friends / home country and visual gimmicks (Ireland, Sweden, Ukraine to mention just the most blatant examples).

5 Georgia (Eldrine, One More Day)
I love rap, and Georgia gave us the best rap we have had so far in ESC. I love almost everything about this Linkin Park style entry (well, it is my 5th place), the song, the staging, the costumes and Eldrine s aggressive style. I only wish that they had had a lead singer with a really raspy voice singing in Georgian.

4 Serbia (Nina, Caroban)
And my 1st place in the happy song category goes to sweet Nina this year. This is such a cute and well-crafted tribute to the 60s and Nina is just magical on stage herself. There isn t anything to add really. It is great fun and the perfect package if you happen to love retro things, which I do.

3 Greece (Loukas Yiorkas feat. Stereo Mike, Watch My Dance)
If Stereo Mike had been stronger in the rap parts of this song, Greece would have been 1st on my list this year for the 1st time since 1989. Loukas was breathtakingly intense, the stage looked fantastic and the camera work was the best we had this year. That side shot when the dancing starts! There was a sudden hush at our party from that moment on and everyone was watching and listening, fighting the goose-bumps. Moreover, next to Italy, Germany and (to a lesser degree) Serbia this is one of only four songs with some cultural relevance in this year s contest, a song that aims at more than just entertaining for three minutes or even trying to please as many people as possible no matter what. In this respect Greece (as Germany and Italy) is the complete opposite to what brought victory to Azerbaijan this year, and I am very happy that all three songs got into the top 10 as a necessary counterweight to Azerbaijan s sickly-sweet success. But what makes Greece 2011 such a special song in my book? It is the combination of a traditional ritual of danced masculinity (zeibekiko) with a contemporary ritual of danced masculinity (b-boying). Simply fantastic!, at least for my taste.

1 Germany (Lena, Taken by a Stranger)
Let me start by telling you that I am not exactly a fan of Germany in ESC. With only very few exceptions (like 1980 or 2007) we have mostly sent crap and I have Germany in 1st place on my list only in one other year (1964). This year, I couldn t decide whom to give the 1st place to because both Italy and Germany were pieces of perfection imo. Normally we only get one every few years, but this year we have got two and that alone makes 2011 a fantastic ESC year in my book. Back to Lena, the performance was very moody and seductive but crystal-clear at the same time. Besides, Lena has matured over the past year and has developed into a fine singer too. Bravo girl! You made us proud!

1 Italy (Raphael Gualazzi, Madness of Love)
Italy steered clear of the contest for 14 years and obviously didn t have a clue what an ESC entry is supposed to look and sound like which is first and foremost trashy when it comes to the fan favourites. As a consequence they sent a very talented artist with a fantastic song to Duesseldorf. There is nothing more to add: Italy 2011 perfectly demonstrates how a song contest entry should look and sound. Bravo and welcome back!

Hi Europe and beyond,

I was born the year Sandy Shaw conquered Europe barfooted and currently live in Stuttgart, Germany. I have been an ESC fan for as long as I can think. The first contest I remember is 1977, when Marie Myriam won for my favourite ESC country France. I enjoy discussing ESC songs and trivia but I don't like all the 'political' discussions and hate speech one can nowadays find on esctoday. (Many thanks to the editors for deleting most of it!) ESC should be about uniting people from different countries and cultures, not about reinforcing differences and prejudice. Celebrate diversity!

My main interests are literature, philosophy, art, theatre, opera, and history, and normally I prefer listening to classical music. There are, however, some contemporary singers I really love: Cristina Branco, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Etta Scollo, Benabar, Teoman, Vincent Delerm, Radio Tarifa, and Tiziano Ferro *blush* are among my favourites.

My greatest passion, however, is travelling. My favourite places in Europe are: Hungerford Foot Bridge in London, the vaporetto stop Sant' Angelo in Venice at night, the Lower Barracca Gardens in Valletta, the terrace of the Parador Hotel in Carmona (Andalusia), the monasteries in Batalha, Alcobaca, and Tomar (Portugal), the cloister of Saint-Trophime (Arles, France), Khora Sfakion (Crete) in winter, and Zahara de los Atunes out of the tourist season ... the cities I am madly in love with are London, Lisbon, Seville, Istanbul, Brussels, Tel Aviv and Ciudad Rodrigo.

If you want to drop me a line: togravus.ceterum@yahoo.de

Adarvus Ceterum s favourite songs 1956 to 2010

To begin with a shock ... I am probably the only person in the world whose favourite Irish ESC entry is the one from 1999 ... I adore The Mullans!

Below you can check my top 5 for every contest. I have added all other songs that got at least a 9/12 from me, even if they didn t make my top 5, which happens frequently now that around 40 songs are in the competition every year. Finally, I have included my ESC horrors, those that managed to get a 0/12!
2008 was the strangest contest imo, at least for my taste. No other vintage has both so many songs I really, really love and so many songs I don t like at all.

Belarus, the Czech Republic and Montenegro haven t made it into my top 10 yet.

1956

1. Belgium, Fud Leclerc, Messieurs les noyes de la Seine (12/12)
2. Luxemburg, Michele Arnaud, Ne crois pas (12/12)
3. Germany, Walter Andreas Schwarz, Im Wartesaal zum grossen Glueck (10/12)
4. Luxemburg, Michele Arnaud, Les amants de minuit (9/12)
5. Italy, Franca Raimondi, Apritre le finestre (8/10)

1957

1. Netherlands, Corrie Brokken, Net als toen (12/12)
2. France, Paule Desjardins, La belle amour (8/12)
3. Denmark, Birthe Wilke & Gustav Winckler, Skibet skal sejle i nat (7/12)
4. Switzerland, Lys Assia, L enfant que j etais (6/12)
5. Italy, Nunzio Gallo, Corde della mia chitarra (4/12)
Horror:
Austria, Bob Martin, Wohin, kleines Pony?

1958

1. Netherlands, Corrie Brokken, Heel del wereld (9/12)
2. Sweden, Alice Babs, Lilla staerna (8/12)
3. Germany, Margot Hielscher, Fuer zwei Groschen Musik (8/12)
4. Luxemburg, Solange Berry, Un grand amour (7/12)
5. Italy, Domenico Modugno, Nel blu, dipinto di blu (7/12)

1959

1. Sweden, Brita Borg, Augustin (9/12)
2. Denmark, Birthe Wilke, Uh, jeg ville oenske jeg var dig (8/12)
3. Monaco, Jacques Pills, Mon ami Pierrot (7/12)
4. Belgium, Bob Benny, Hou toch van mij (6/12)
5. Italy, Domenico Modugno, Piove (ciao, ciao, bambina) (6/12)
Horror:
Austria, Ferry Graf, Der K und K Kalypso aus Wien

1960

1. Norway, Nora Brockstedt, Voi voi (12/12)
2. Monaco, Francois Deguelt, Ce soir-la (10/12)
3. Denmark, Katy Boedtker, Det var en yndig tid (9/12)
4. Sweden, Siw Malmkvist, Alla andra far varann (8/12)
5. France, Jacqueline Boyer, Tom Pilibi (7/12)
Horror:
Austria, Harry Winter, Du hast mich so fasziniert

1961

1. Finalnd, Laila Kinnunen, Valoa ikkunassa (12/12)
2. Luxemburg, Jean-Claude Pascal, Nous les amoureux (12/12)
3. Italy, Betty Curtis, Al di la (10/12)
4. United Kingdom, The Allisons, Are You Sure? (10/12)
5. Norway, Nora Brockstedt, Sommer i palma (10/12)
Horror:
Austria, Jimmy Makulis, Sehnsucht

1962

1. France, Isabelle Aubret, Un premier amour (12/12)
2. Yugoslavia, Lola Novakovic, Ne pali svetla u sumrak (12/12)
3. Norway, Inger Jacobsen, Kom sol, kom regn (9/12)
4. Sweden, Inger Berggren, Sol och var (8/12)
5. Switzerland, Jean-Philippe, Le retour (8/12)
Horror:
Belgium, Fud Leclerc, Ton nom
Netherlands, De Spelbrekers, Katinka

1963

1. Denmark, Grethe & Joergen Ingmann, Dansevise (12/12)
2. Monaco, Francoise Hardy, L amour s en va (12/12)
3. France, Alain Barriere, Elle etait si jolie (12/12)
4. Yugoslavia, Vice Vukov, Brodovi (10/12)
5. Norway, Anita Thallaug, Solhverv (10/12)

1964

1. Germany, Nora Nova, Man gewoehnt sich so schnell an das Schoene (12/12)
2. Italy, Gigliola Cinquetti, Non ho l eta (12/12)
3. Portugal, Antonio Calvario, Oracao (10/12)
4. Spain, Nelly, Tim & Tony, Caracola (10/12)
5. France, Rachel, Le chant de Mallory (9/12)
6. Belgium, Robert Cogoi, Pres de ma riviere (9/12)

1965

1. Luxemburg, France Gall, Poupee de cire, poupee de son (12/12)
2. Finland, Viktor Klimenko, Aurinko laskee lanteen (12/12)
3. Portugal, Simone de Oliveira, Sol de inverno (10/12)
4. Yugoslavia, Vice Vukov, Ceznja (9/12)
5. Italy, Bobby Solo, Se piangi, se ridi (8/12)

1966

1. Italy, Domenico Modugno, Dio come ti amo (12/12)
2. Spain, Raphael, Yo soy aquel (10/12)
3. Germany, Margot Eskens, Die Zeiger der Uhr (9/12)
4. Norway, Ase Kleveland, Intet er nytt under solen (8/12)
5. Yugoslavia, Berta Ambroz, Brez besed (8/12)

1967

1. Sweden, Oesten Warnerbring, Som en droem (12/12)
2. Yugoslavia, Lado Leskovar, Sve roze sveta (10/12)
3. France, Noelle Cordier, Il doit faire beau la-bas (9/12)
4. United Kingdom, Sandy Shaw, Puppet on a String (9/12)
5. Spain, Raphael, Hablemos del amor (8/12)
Horror:
Belgium, Louis Neefs, Ik heb zorgen

1968

1. Belgium, Claude Lombard, Quand tu reviendras (12/12)
2. France, Isabelle Aubret, La source (12/12)
3. Yugoslavia, Dubrovacki trubaduri, Jedan dan (8/12)
4. Switzerland, Gianni Mascolo, Guradando il sole (8/12)
5. United Kingdom, Cliff Richard, Congratulations (7/12)
Horror:
Portugal, Carlos Mendes, Verao

1969

1. France, Frida Boccara, Un jour, un enfant (12/12)
2. Portugal, Simone de Oliveira, Desfolhada portuguesa (12/12)
3. Italy, Iva Zanicchi, Due grosse lacrime bianche (10/12)
4. Netherlands, Lenny Kuhr, De troubadour (10/12)
5. Germany, Siw Malmkvist, Primaballerina (9/12)
Horror:
Yugoslavia, Ivan & 3M , Pozdrav svijetu

1970

1. Spain, Julio Iglesias, Gwendolyne (12/12)
2. United Kingdom, Mary Hopkin, Knock, Knock (Who s There?) (9/12)
3. Germany, Katja Ebstein, Wunder gibt es immer wieder (8/12)
4. France, Guy Bonnet, Marie Blanche (8/12)
5. Italy, Gianni Morandi, Occhi di ragazza (7/12)
Horror:
Luxemburg, David Alexander Winter, Je suis tombe du ciel

1971

1. Portugal, Tonicha, Menina (12/12)
2. Yugoslavia, Krunoslav Slabinac, Tvoj djecak je tuzan (12/12)
3. Austria, Marianne Mendt, Musik (12/12)
4. Italy, Massimo Ranieri, L amore e un attimo (10/12)
5. Monaco, Severine, Un banc, un arbre, une rue (10/12)
6. United Kingdom, Clodagh Rodgers, Jack in the Box (9/12)
7. Germany, Katja Ebstein, Diese Welt (9/12)
Horror:
Sweden, Family Four, Vita vidder

1972

1. Switzerland, Veronique Muller, C est la chanson de mon amour (12/12)
2. Italy, Nicola di Bari, I giorni dell arcobaleno (12/12)
3. Luxemburg, Vicky Leandros, Apres toi (10/12)
4. Portugal, Carlos Mendes, A festa da vida (9/12)
5. United Kingdom, The New Seekers, Beg, Steal or Borrow (9/12)

1973

1. Luxemburg, Anne-Marie David, Tu te reconnaitras (12/12)
2. Spain, Mocedades, Eres tu (10/12)
3. Israel, Ilanit, Ey sham (9/12)
4. Yugoslavia, Zdravo Colic, Gori vatra (8/12)
5. Portugal, Fernando Tordo, Tourada (7/12)
Horror:
Netherlands, Ben Cramer, De oude muzikant

1974

1. Monaco, Romuald, Celui qui reste et celui qui s en va (10/12)
2. Italy, Gigliola Cinquetti, Si (9/12)
3. Sweden, Abba, Waterloo (9/12)
4. Portugal, Paulo de Carvalho, E despois do adeus (8/12)
5. Israel, Kaveret, Natati La Khaiai (8/12)

1975

1. France, Nicole Rieu, Et bonjour a toi l artiste (12/12)
2. Netherlands, Teach In, Ding a dong (10/12)
3. Yugoslavia, Pepel in kri, Dan ljubezni (10/12)
4. Turkey, Semiha Yanki, Seninle bir dakika (9/12)
5. Monaco, Sophie, Une chanson c est une letter (9/12)
6. Sweden, Lars Berghagen & The Dolls, Jennie, Jennie (9/12)
7. Italy, Wess & Dori Ghezzi, Era (9/12)
8. Germany, Joy Fleming, Ein Lied kann eine Bruecke sein (9/12)

1976

1. Portugal, Carlos do Carmo, Uma flor de verde pinho (12/12)
2. Yugoslavia, Ambasadori, Ne mogu skriti svoju bol (10/12)
3. United Kingdom, Brotherhood of Men, Save Your Kisses for Me (10/12)
4. Ireland, Red Vincent Hurley, When (10/12)
5. Belgium, Pierre Rapsat, Judie et cie (9/12)
Horror:
Germany, Les Humphries Singers, Sing Sang Song

1977

1. Netherlands, Heddy Lester, De mallemolen (10/12)
2. Israel, Ilanit, Ah-haa-vah hee shir lish-naa-yim (10/12)
3. France, Marie Myriam, L oiseau et l enfant (10/12)
4. Luxemburg, Anne-Marie B., Frere Jacques (9/12)
5. Italy, Mia Martini, Libera (9/12)

1978

1. Israel, Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta, A-ba-ni-bi (10/12)
2. Germany, Ireen Sheer, Feuer (9/12)
3. United Kingdom, Co-co, The Bad Old Days (7/12)
4. Belgium, Jean Vallee, L amour ca fait chanter la vie (7/12)
5. Sweden, Bjoern Skifs, Det blir alltid vaerre framat natten (6/12)
Horror:
Luxemburg, Baccara, Parlez-vous francais?

1979

1. France, Anne-Marie David, Je suis enfant soleil (12/12)
2. Luxemburg, Jeane Manson, J ai deja vue ca dans tes yeux (12/12)
3. Finland, Katri Helena, Katso sineen taivaan (10/12)
4. Israel, Gali Atari feat. Milk and Honey, Hallelujah (10/12)
5. Germany, Dschinghis Khan, Dschinghis Khan (10/12)
6. Greece, Elpida, Sokrates (9/12)

1980

1. Italy, Alan Sorrenti, Non so che darei (10/12)
2. Sweden, Tomas Ledin, Just nu (10/12)
3. Katja Ebstein, Theater (10/12)
4. Belgium, Telex, Euro-vision (10/12)
5. Turkey, Ajda Pekkan, Petroil (9/12)
6. Spain, Trigo Limpio, Quedate esta noche (9/12)
7. Morocco, Semira Bensaid, Bitakat hob (9/12)

1981

1. Portugal, Carlos Paiao, Playback (10/12)
2. Luxemburg, Jean-Claude Pascal, C est peut-etre pas l Amerique (9/12)
3. Turkey, Modern Folk Trio and Aysegul Aldinc, Donme dolap (9/12)
4. Switzerland, Peter, Sue and Marc, Io senza te (9/12)
5. Germany, Lena Valaitis, Johnny Blue (8/12)

1982

1. Cyprus, Anna Vissi, Mono I agapi (10/12)
2. Spain, Lucia, El (9/12)
3. Israel, Avi Toledano, Hora (8/12)
4. United Kingdom, Bardo, One Step Further (7/12)
5. Sweden, Chips, Dag efter dag (7/12)
Horror:
Finland, Kojo, Nuku pommiin

1983

1. Italy, Ricardo Fogli, Per Lucia (12/12)
2. Spain, Remedios Amaya, Quien maneja mi barca (12/12)
3. Belgium, Pas-de-Deux, Rendez-vous (12/12)
4. Portugal, Armando Gama, Esta balada que te dou (10/12)
5. Greece, Christi Stassinopoulou, Mou les (9/12)
6. Israel, Ofra Haza, Hi (9/12)
Horror:
Netherlands, Bernadette, Sing Me a Song
Turkey, Cetin Alp and the Short Waves, Opera

1984

1. Portugal, Maria Guinot, Silencio e tanta gente (12/12)
2. Spain, Bravo, Lady Lady (10/12)
3. Germany, Mary Roos, Aufrecht gehn (10/12)
4. Denmark, Hoteyes, Det lige det (9/12)
5. United Kingdom, Belle & The Devotions, Love Games (8/12)

1985

1. Israel, Izhar Cohen, Ole, ole (10/12)
2. Cyprus, Lia Vissi, To katalava arga (9/12)
3. Finland, Sonja Lumme, Elaekoeoen elaemae (8/12)
4. Spain, Paloma San Basilio, La fiesta termino (8/12)
5. France, Roger Bens, Femme dans ses reves aussi (8/12)

1986

1. Austria, Timna Brauer, Die Zeit ist einsam (12/12)
2. Turkey, Klips ve Onlar, Halley (10/12)
3. Yugoslavia, Doris Dragovic, Zeljo moja (10/12)
4. Portugal, Dora, Nao sejas mau pra mim (9/12)
5. Luxemburg, Sherisse Laurence, L amour de ma vie (8/12)

1987

1. Italy, Umberto Tozzi & Raf, Gente di mare (10/12)
2. Iceland, Halla Margret Arnadottir, Haegt og hljott (9/12)
3. Ireland, Johnny Logan, Hold Me Now (9/12)
4. Yugoslavia, Novi Fosili, Ja sam za ples (8/12)
5. Spain, Patricia Kraus, No estas solo (8/12)
Horror:
Switzerland, Carol Rich, Moitie moitie

1988

1. Norway, Karoline Krueger, For var jord (12/12)
2. Israel, Yardena Arazi, Ben adam (10/12)
3. Luxemburg, Lara Fabian, Croire (9/12)
4. Turkey, MFO, Sufi (9/12)
5. United Kingdom, Scott Fitzgerald, Go (8/12)
Horror:
Austria, Wilfried, Lisa Mona Lisa

1989

1. Greece, Marianna Efstratiou, To diko sou asteri (12/12)
2. Netherlands, Justine Pelmelay, Blijf zoals je bent (10/12)
3. United Kingdom, Live Report, Why Do I Always Get It Wrong? (10/12)
4. Belgium, Ingeborg, Door de vind (9/12)
5. Iceland, Daniel Agust, Dad sem enginn ser (9/12)
6. Turkey, Pan, Bana bana (9/12)
Horror:
France, Nathalie Paque, J ai vole la vie

1990

1. Belgium, Philippe Lafontaine, Macedomienne (12/12)
2. Spain, Azucar Moreno, Bandido (12/12)
3. Netherlands, Maywood, Ik wil alles met je delen (10/12)
4. France, Joelle Ursull, White & Black Blues (10/12)
5. Israel, Rita, Shara barkhovot (10/12)
6. Yugoslavia, Tajci, Hajde da ludejemo (9/12)
Horror:
Austria, Simone, Keine Mauern mehr

1991

1. France, Amina, C est le dernier qui a parle qui a raison (12/12)
2. Israel, Duo Datz, Kan (12/12)
3. Spain, Sergio Dalma, Bailar pegados (12/12)
4. Portugal, Dulce Pontes, Lusitana paixao (10/12)
5. Cyprus, Elena Patroklou, S.O.S. (10/12)
6. Greece, Sofia Vossou, Anixi (9/12)
7. Italy, Peppino di Capri, Comme e ddoce o mare (9/12)

1992

1. Italy, Mia Martini, Rapsodia (12/12)
2. Cyprus, Evridiki, Teriazoume (12/12)
3. Portugal, Dina, Amor d agua fresca (10/12)
4. France, Kali, Monte la rivie (10/12)
5. Greece, Cleopatra, Olou tou kosmou i elpida (9/12)
Horror:
Finland, Pave, Yamma yamma

1993

1. Spain, Eva Santamaria, Hombres (12/12)
2. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Fazla, Sva bol svijeta (12/12)
3. Norway, Silje Vige, Alle mine tankar (12/12)
4. Ireland, Niamh Kavanagh, In Your Eyes (10/12)
5. United Kingdom, Sonia, Better the Devil You Know (10/12)
6. France, Patrick Fiori, Mamma Corsica (10/12)
7. Netherlands, Ruth Jacott, Vrede (9/12)
8. Greece, Keti Garbi, Ellada, hora tou fotos (9/12)

1994

1. Cyprus, Evridiki, Ime anthropos ke ego (12/12)
2. United Kingdom, Frances Ruffelle, We Will Be Free (Lonely Symphony) (10/12)
3. Netherlands, Willeke Alberti, Waar is de zon (10/12)
4. Hungary, Friderika, Kinek mondjam el vetkeimet (10/12)
5. Ireland, Paul Harrington & Charlie Mac Gettigan, Rock n Roll Kids (9/12)
6. Malta, Chris & Moira, More Than Love (9/12)
7. Russia, Youddiph, Vechni stranik (9/12)
Horror:
Austria, Petra Frey, Fuer den Frieden der Welt

1995

1. Sweden, Jan Johansen, Se pa mig (12/12)
2. Cyprus, Alexandros Panayi, Sti fotia (12/12)
3. Spain, Anabel Conde, Vuelve conmigo (12/12)
4. Denmark, Aud Wilken, Fra Mols til Skagen (12/12)
5. Norway, Secret Garden, Nocturne (10/12)
6. Greece, Elena Konstantopoulou, Pia prossefhi (9/12)
7. Poland, Justyna Steczkowska, Sama (9/12)
Horror:
Germany, Stone & Stone, Verliebt in Dich

1996

1. Poland, Kasia Kowalska, Chce znac swoj grzech (12/12)
2. Portugal, Lucia Moniz, O meu coracao nao tem cor (12/12)
3. Sweden, One More Time, Den vilda (10/12)
4. Austria, Georg Nussbaumer, Weils dir guat got (10/12)
5. Norway, Elisabeth Andreassen, I evighet (10/12)
6. Croatia, Maja Blagdan, Sveta ljubav (10/12)
7. Turkey, Sebnem Paker, Besinci mevsim (9/12)
8. France, Dan ar Braz & Heritage des Celtes, Diwanit bugale (9/12)

1997

1. Slovenia, Tanja Ribic, Zbudi se (12/12)
2. Iceland, Paul Oscar, Minn hinsti dans (12/12)
3. Italy, Jalisse, Fiumi di parole (10/12)
4. United Kingdom, Katrina & The Waves, Love Shine a Light (10/12)
5. Spain, Marcos Llunas, Sin rencor (10/12)
6. Turkey, Sebnem Paker & Grup Etnik, Dinle (9/12)
7. Cyprus, Hara & Andreas Konstantinou, Mana mou (9/12)
8. Greece, Marianna Zorba, Horepse (9/12)

1998

1. United Kingdom, Imaani, Where Are You? (12/12)
2. Croatia, Danijela, Neka mi ne svane (12/12)
3. Estonia, Koit Toome, Mere lapsed (10/12)
4. Sweden, Jill Johnsson, Kaerleken aer (10/12)
5. France, Marie-Line, Ou aller? (9/12)
6. Malta, Chiara, The One That I Love (9/12)
7. Slovakia, Katarina Hasprova, Modlitba (9/12)

1999

1. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Dino & Beatrice, Putnici (10/12)
2. Turkey, Tugba Oenal & Grup Mistik, Doen artik (10/12)
3. Ireland, The Mullans, When You Need Me (10/12)
4. Belgium, Vanessa Chinitor, Like the Wind (9/12)
5. Croatia, Doris Dragovic, Marija Magdalena (9/12)

2000

1. Cyprus, Voice, Nomiza (12/12)
2. Latvia, Brainstorm, My Star (12/12)
3. Switzerland, Jane Bogaert, La vita cos s (10/12)
4. Turkey, Pinar Ayhan & S.O.S., Yorgunum anla (10/12)
5. Estonia, Ines, Once in a Lifetime (9/12)

2001

1. Russia, Mumij Troll, Lady Alpine Blue (12/12)
2. France, Natasha-St.-Pier, Je n ai que mo name (12/12)
3. Greece, Antique, Die for You (10/12)
4. Turkey, Sedat Yuece, Sevgiliye son (10/12)
5. Israel, Tal Sondak, Ein davar (9/12)
6. Lithuania, Skamp, You Got Style (9/12)
7. Spain, David Civera, Dile que la quiero (9/12)

2002

1. France, Sandrine Francois, Il faut du temps (12/12)
2. Macedonia, Karolina Goceva, Od nas zavisi (10/12)
3. Finland, Laura Voutilainen, Addicted to You (10/12)
4. Latvia, Marie N, I Wanna (9/12)
5. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Maja Tatic, Fairytales about Love (9/12)
6. Cyprus, One, Gimme (9/12)
Horror:
Germany, Corinna May, I Can t Live without Music

2003

1. France, Louise Belaiche, Monts et merveilles (12/12)
2. Romania, Nicola, Don t Break my Heart (12/12)
3. Portugal, Rita Guerra, Deixa-me sonhar (so mais uima vez) (12/12)
4. Estonia, Ruffus, Eighties Coming Back (12/12)
5. Russia, t.A.T.u., Ne ver, ne boisia! (10/12)
6. Turkey, Sertab Erener, Everyway That I Can (10/12)
7. Spain, Beth, Dime (10/12)
8. Slovenia, Karmen Stavec, Nanana (9/12)
9. Austria, Alf Poier, Weil der Mensch zaehlt (9/12)
10. Latvia, F.L.Y., Hello from Mars (9/12)
11. Belgium, Urban Trad, Sanomi (9/12)
Horror:
Ukraine, Oleksandr Ponomaryov, Hasta la vista

2004

1. Serbia & Montenegro, Zeljko Joksimocic, Lane moje (12/12)
2. Turkey, Athena, For Real (12/12)
3. Iceland, Jonsi, Heaven (12/12)
4. France, Jonatan Cerrada, A chaque pas (12/12)
5. Spain, Ramon, Para llanarme de ti (10/12)
6. Belgium, Xandee, 1 Life (10/12)
7. Sweden, Lena Philipsson, It Hurts (10/12)
8. Macedonia, Tose Proeski, Life (10/12)
9. Portugal, Sofia Vitoria, Foi magia (9/12)
10. Lithuania, Linas & Simona, What Happened to Your Love (9/12)
11. United Kingdom, James Fox, Hold on to Our Love (9/12)
Horror:
Malta, Julie & Ludwig, On again off again
Switzerland, Piero Esteriore & The Music Stars, Celebrate!

2005

1. Andorra, Marian van de Wal, La mirada interior (12/12)
2. Ukraine, Greenjolly, Razom nas bahato (12/12)
3. Monaco, Lise Darly, Tout de moi (12/12)
4. France, Ortal, Chacun pense a soi (12/12)
5. Denmark, Jakob Sveistrup, Talking to you (10/12)
6. Croatia, Boris Novkovic feat. Lado Members, Vukivu umiro sami (10/12)
7. Austria, Global Kryner, Y asi (10/12)
8. Poland, Ivan & Defin, Czarna dziewczyna (10/12)
9. Spain, Son de Sol, Brujeria (10/12)
10. Albania, Ledina Celo, Tomorrow I Go (9/12)
11. Belgium, Nuno Resende, Le grand soir (9/12)
Horror:
Macedonia, Martin Vucic, Make My Day
Portugal, 2B, Amar

2006

1. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Hari Mata Hari, Lejla (12/12)
2. Norway, Christine Guldbrandsen, Alvedansen (12/12)
3. Germany, Texas Lightning, No No Never (12/12)
4. Andorra, Jenny, Sense tu (10/12)
5. Iceland, Silvia Night, Congratulations (9/12)
6. Russia, Dima Bilan, Never Let You Go (9/12)
Horror:
Belarus, Polina Smolova, Mum
Lithuania, LT United, We Are the Winners

2007

1. Serbia, Marija Serifovic, Molitva (12/12)
2. Germany, Roger Cicero, Frauen regiern die Welt (12/12)
3. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Marija Sestic, Rijeka bez imena (12/12)
4. Bulgaria, Elitsa & Stoyan, Water (12/12)
5. Russia, Serebro, Song #1 (12/12)
6. Hungary, Magdi Ruzsa, Unsubstantial Blues (12/12)
7. Georgia, Sopho, Visionary Dream (10/12)
8. Moldova, Natalia Barbu, Fight (10/12)
9. Armenia, Hayko, Anytime You Need (10/12)
10. Ukraine, Verka Serducka, Dancing lasha tumbai (10/12)
11. Israel, Teapacks, Push the Button (9/12)
12. France, Les Fatals Picards, L amour a la francaise (9/12)
13. Andorra, Anonymous, Salvem el mon (9/12)
14. Albania, Frederik Ndoci & Aida, Hear My Plea (9/12)
Horror:
United Kingdom, Scooch, Flying the Flag (for You)

2008

1. Turkey, Mor ve oetesi, Deli (12/12)
2. Serbia, Jelena Tomasevic, Oro (12/12)
3. Sebastien Tellier, Divine (12/12)
4. Macedonia, Tamara feat. Vrcak & Adrian, Let Me Love You (12/12)
5. Portugal, Vania Fernandes, Senhora do Mar (12/12)
6. San Marino, Miodio, Complice (12/12)
7. Albania, Olta Boka, Zemren e lange peng (12/12)
8. Israel, Boaz Mauda, Keilu kan (12/12)
9. Norway, Maria Haukas Stroreng, Hold on Be Strong (9/12)
Horror:
Azerbaijan, Elnur & Samir, Day after Day
Czech Republic, Tereza Kerndlova, Have Some Fun
Estonia, Kreisiraadio, Leto svet
Latvia, Pirates of the Sea, Wolves of the Sea
Lithuania, Jeronimas Milius, Nomads in the Night
Slovenia, Rebeka Dremelj, Vrag naj vzame

2009

1. France, Patricia Kaas, Et s il fallait le faire (12/12)
2. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Regina, Bistra voda (12/12)
3. Lithuania, Sasha Son, Love (12/12)
4. Switzerland, Lovebugs, The Highest Heights (12/12)
5. Estonia, Urban Symphony, Raendajad (12/12)
6. Armenia, Inga & Anush, Jan jan (10/12)
7. Moldova, Nelly Ciobanu, Hora din Moldova (10/12)
8. Portugal, Flor-de-lis, Todas as ruas do amor (10/12)
9. Iceland, Yohanna, Is It True (9/12)
Horror:
Bulgaria, Krasimir Avramov, Illusion
Romania, Elena Gheorghe, The Balkan Girls
Slovenia, Quartissimo feat. Martina, Love Symphony

2010

1. Turkey, ManGa, We Could Be the Same (12/12)
2. Cyprus, Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders, Life Looks Better in Spring (12/12)
3. Estonia, Malcolm Lincoln & Manpower4, Siren (12/12)
4. Spain, Daniel Diges, Algo pequenito (12/12)
5. Israel, Harel Skaat, Milim (12/12)
6. Sweden, Anna Bergendahl, This Is My Life (12/12)
7. Germany, Lena Mayer-Landrut, Satellite (12/12)
8. Serbia, Milan Stankovic, Ovo je Balkan (10/12)
9. Belgium, Tom Dice, Me and My Guitar (10/12)
10. Ukraine, Alyosha, Sweet People (10/12)
11. Russia, The Peter Nalich Band, Lost and Forgotten (10/12)
12. Switzerland, Michael von der Heide, Il pleut de l or (10/12)
13. Croatia, Feminnem, Lako je sve (10/12)
14. Lithuania, InCulto, Eastern European Funk (9/12)
15. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Vukasin Brajic, Thunder and Lightning (9/12)
16. Latvia, Aisha, What For? (9/12)
Horror:
Belarus, 3+2, Butterflies
Netherlands, Sieneke, Ik ben verliefd (Shalalie)

Best winning songs

Jean-Claude Pascal, Nous les amoureux (Luxemburg 1961)
Frida Boccara, Un jour, un enfant (France 1969)

Worst winning songs

Herreys, Diggi-loo diggi-ley (Sweden 1984)
Dima Bilan, Believe (Russia 2008 ... The song wasn't that bad, but gosh! the performance was among the most tacky and repulsive I have ever seen.)

Most undeserved 0 pointers:

Nora Nova, Man gewoehnt sich so schnell an das Schoene (Germany 1964)
Remedios Amaya, Quien maneja mi barca? (Spain 1983)
Celia Lawson, Antes do adeus (Portugal 1997)

Favourite ESC artists (judging their non-ESC stuff)
Dulce Pontes, Justyna Steczkowska, Hari Mata Hari, Jelena Tomasevic, Sebastien Tellier

Favourite ESC years
1956, 1969, 1979, 1996, 1998, 2007, 2010

Worst years
1959, 1978, 1982, 2006

Best lyrics
Walter Andreas Schwarz, Im Wartesaaal zum grossen Glueck (Germany 1956)
Jean-Claude Pascal, Nous les amoureux (Luxemburg 1961)
Isabelle Aubret, La source (France 1968)
Vania Fernandes, Senhora do mar (Portugal 2008)
Patricia Kaas, Et s'il fallait le faire (France 2009)

Most overrated ESC artist: Carola
Most underestimated ESC artist: Simone de Oliveira

Best ESC moment
The brilliant camera shots of France 2008!

Finally, I don't have any favourite ESC countries anymore because a lot of countries I rarely liked before have sent fantastic entries in the last years. Thus I have around 40 favourite countries, and there are only very few left who haven't sent a song that is close to my heart yet.

For the real nerds ... here are my average scores of all ESC countries except Morocco, who participated only once.

1. Serbia 11,00
2. San Marino 9,50
3. BiH 8,53
4. Andorra 8,33
5. Moldowa 8,14
6. Cyprus 7,86
7. France 7,77
8. Italy 7,76
9. Georgia 7,75
10. Portufal 7,38
11. Albania 7,38
12. Iceland 7,29
13. Turkey 7,24
14. Spain 7,20
15. Greece 7,13
16. Yugoslavia 7,11
17. Israel 6,83
18. Russia 6,65
19. Croatia 6,63
20. Poland 6,50
21. Ukraine 6,44
22. Bulgaria 6,43
23. United Kingdom 6,31
24. Slovenia 6,24
25. Monaco 6,08
26. Latvia 6,08
27. Lithuania 6,00
28. Armenia 6,00
29. Luxemburg 5,97
30. Estonia 5,95
31. Belgium 5,83
32. Norway 5,76
33. Ireland 5,76
34. Sweden 5,75
35. Germany 5,74
36. Macedonia 5,69
37. Denmark 5,67
38. Czech Republic 5,67
39. Finland 5,62
40. Netherlands 5,55
41. Switzerland 5,48
42. Azerbaijan 5,25
43. Malta 5,13
44. Slovakia 4,88
45. Romania 4,75
46. Montenegro 4,75
47. Hungary 4,54
48. Austria 4,11
49. Belarus 1,50

National finals corner

I started following NFs in 2006, and here is a list of my favourite NF songs that unfortunately never made it to ESC.

Brahim, P.o.w.e.r. (Belgium 06)
InCulto, Welcome to Lithuania (Lithuania 06)
Ingrid Jushi, Po dhe jo (Albania 06)

Valerie Louri, Besoin d ailleurs (France 07)
MAP, Grain de sel (France 07)
Hele Kore & Kristjan Kasearu, Romeo ja Julia (Estonia 07)
Peca Jovanovic, Kao da je bilo juce (Serbia 07)
Ionut Ungureanu, Time (Romania 07)
Scar, As Long as You Know (Malta 07)

Brahim, What I Like about You (Belgium 08)
Sonja Tarculovska, Sever i jug (Macedonia 08)
Margret Kristin Sigurdardottir, Bigger Shoes (Iceland 08)
Lisboa Nao Sejas Francesa, Porto de encontro (Portugal 08)
Tamara Obrovac, Amor (Croatia 08)
Vuokko Hovatta, Virginia (Finland 08)
Zuma, Always, Always (Norway 08)
Ognjen & Prijatelji, Cucemo, cucete (Serbia 08)
Carolin Fortenbacher, Hinterm Ozean (Germany 08)
La Casa Azul, La revolucion sexual (Spain 08)

Caroline af Ugglas, Snalla snalla (Sweden 09)
Kaja Halldorsdottir, Lygin ein (Iceland 09)
Hreindis Ylva Gardarsdottir, Vornott (Iceland 09)
Riikka, Meren (Finland 09)
Passionworks, Surrender (Finland 09)
Noa & Mira Awad, Will You Dance with Me (Israel 09)
Kaliopi & Naum, Rum dum dum (Macedonia 09)
Traffic, See paev (Estonia 09)

Heli Kajo, Annankadun kulmassa (Finland 10)
Antti Kleemola, Sun puollela (Finland 10)
Leylla, Amintirele de dor (Moldova 10)
Ainhoa Cantalapiedra, Volvere (Spain 10)
Franko Krajcar, Jobrni je jobrni (Croatia 10)
Harel Skat, Lean (Israel 10)
Princessa Avenua, Istoriya lyubvi (Russia 10)
Elena Esenina, Mir bez tebya (Russia 10)
Martina Feri & Tomaz Nedoh, Le en dan (Slovenia 10)
Kito y Rafa, En mi silencio (Spain 10)
Anna Hlin, Komdu til min a morgun (Iceland 10)
Kristine Karkle-Purina, Risti rasti (Latvia 10)
Sirdeles, As sit tu (Lithuania 10)
Frisprakarn, Singel (Sweden 10)
Salem Al Fakir, Keep on Walking (Sweden 10)

*2011 ... what a fantastic year for NFs ... and so many wrong choices ... ...*

Alf Poier & Die Obersteirische Wolfshilfe, Happy Song (Austria 11)
Eva K. Anderson, I Will Be Here (Austria 11)
CAMA, Time of Our Lives (Austria 11)
Sarina Cohn, Rien en apparence (Belgium 11)
Elmira Kostova, Mome hubava (Bulgaria 11)
Aliose, Sur les paves (Switzerland 11)
The Glue, Come What May (Switzerland 11)
Lena, Push Forward (Germany 11)
Shirubi Ikazushi, St Cabah (Estonia 11)
Ithaka Maria, Hopa'pa-rei! (Estonia 11)
Mimicry, The Storm (Estonia 11)
Outloudz, I Wanna Meet Bob Dylan (Estonia 11)
Ans Andur, Lapsed ja lennukid (Estonia 11)
MID, Smile (Estonia 11)
Mario Manuksela, Synkaen maan tango (Finland 11)